Ever wonder how this season’s celebrations affect the environment? Guest blogger Krista Fairles takes an amusing look at this very topic:

The holidays are a wonderful, cheerful time when most people wait for Santa to bring them presents. But I’m not like most people. I spend my time wondering just what the environmental impacts of Santa Claus and his reindeer are, and more importantly, how I can calculate those impacts.

Lately I’ve been particularly curious as to whether Santa’s old sled is a clean green flying machine, or if he should be replacing his 8 reindeer with an environmentally-friendly car.

I should mention that, surprisingly, I was unable to find statistics specific to Santa’s magical flying reindeer, so these calculations use numbers from various sources and may not represent actual pollution caused by Santa and his animals. In other words, don’t complain to the government about the damage Santa is causing the environment based on this article.

Santa’s yearly trip around the globe is 44,000km long, twice the average of a North American driver. If we assume that the magic provides the altitude for this trip, then reindeer power only needs to push Santa’s sled forward. To complete the trip in 12 hours, I estimate they must travel at a speed of about 3100km/h. To travel at this speed, for this length of time, the reindeer need to eat an incredible 980 million calories each!!

So the next question is: how much food is in 980 million calories? Well, if they’re eating corn, they’d need to eat 16,500 lbs each — or 1.6 acres of food. Growing 12.8 acres of corn has its own implications for the environment that we’ll leave for another calculation.

We now need to consider that during the global trip the reindeer are “letting out” some of that corn in the form of methane (甲烷，沼气). A resting cow produces 110 kg of methane per year, so flying reindeer would each let out about 4.8 tons. With methane causing 20 times the global warming damage of CO₂, and the altitude increasing that damage by 1000% that another 20 times, we can put Santa’s round-trip emissions at 15,488 tons. This is much more than the 100 tons an environmentally-friendly car would release on the same trip!

Bad Santa.

1. Which aspect does the writer NOT include in her analyses about reindeer’s influence on environment?

A. Distance covered.                                      B. Calories consumed.

C. Tons of waste let out.                       D. Money spent on food.

2. According to Paragraph 6, how many acres of corn would Santa need to feed 10 reindeer?

A. 1.6.                 B. 16.                           C. 12.8.                        D. 128.

3. Which of the following statements would the writer most probably agree with?

A. Christmas celebrations are really a waste of money.

B. Vegetarians are more likely to survive than meat-eaters.

C. Raising animals has a negative influence on environment.

D. The car industry does less harm to environment than farming.

4. Which of the following words best describes the language style of the passage?

A. Humourous and concerned.                    B. Cheerful and friendly.

C. Academic and formal.                               D. Serious and boring.

5. Which of the following is the best title for this passage?

A. Is Santa driving clean and green?

B. Santa, watch where you’re going!

C. Santa Claus is coming to town!

D. Let’s reduce waste on Christmas celebrations!

E
There is a debate going on in America public schools over the best way to teach English to foreign students. Many schools use bilingual education. This means that students study their core subjects such as science, mathematics and social studies in their native tongues. They also take a few h ours of English.
Recently, many educators have begun to criticize bilingual education. Opponents claim that bilingual education slows not only students’ development of language skills but also their adjustment to American life. They often remain separated from the mainstream student body.
These critics have proposed the immersion method (沉浸式语言教学法). This means that students take only English classes until they can function effectively in regular subject classes. Proponents of the immersion theory argue that in order to prepare these foreign students for college or the job market, they must be able to communicate in English.
Despite this disagreement, nearly all educators agree that English is a necessary tool for improving the quality of one’s life in America.
72. In bilingual education programs, students ______.
A. study in their native countries
B. study their core subjects in their native languages
C. study only English until they can function effectively in regular subject classes
D. mainly work on adjustment to American life
73. A proponent is someone who ______.
A. supports a certain idea or policy      B. is against a certain idea or policy
C. uses the immersion method of teaching English   D. is a school administer
74. According to the article, which of the following is NOT true?
A. Nearly all educators agree that English is important for foreign students.
B. Students in bilingual education programs are often separated from American students
C. Nearly all educators agree that bilingual education is best for teaching English to foreign students.
D. Students with good English language skills have better chances for college or the job market.
75. What is the author’s opinion about the bilingual education in America?
A. He is for it strongly             B. He is against it strongly
C. He doesn’t show his own opinion  D. He is against all the educators

E

There is a debate going on in America public schools over the best way to teach English to foreign students. Many schools use bilingual education. This means that students study their core subjects such as science, mathematics and social studies in their native tongues. They also take a few h ours of English.

Recently, many educators have begun to criticize bilingual education. Opponents claim that bilingual education slows not only students’ development of language skills but also their adjustment to American life. They often remain separated from the mainstream student body.

These critics have proposed the immersion method (沉浸式语言教学法). This means that students take only English classes until they can function effectively in regular subject classes. Proponents of the immersion theory argue that in order to prepare these foreign students for college or the job market, they must be able to communicate in English.

Despite this disagreement, nearly all educators agree that English is a necessary tool for improving the quality of one’s life in America.

72. In bilingual education programs, students ______.

A. study in their native countries

B. study their core subjects in their native languages

C. study only English until they can function effectively in regular subject classes

D. mainly work on adjustment to American life

73. A proponent is someone who ______.

A. supports a certain idea or policy      B. is against a certain idea or policy

C. uses the immersion method of teaching English   D. is a school administer

74. According to the article, which of the following is NOT true?

A. Nearly all educators agree that English is important for foreign students.

B. Students in bilingual education programs are often separated from American students

C. Nearly all educators agree that bilingual education is best for teaching English to foreign students.

D. Students with good English language skills have better chances for college or the job market.

75. What is the author’s opinion about the bilingual education in America?

A. He is for it strongly             B. He is against it strongly

C. He doesn’t show his own opinion  D. He is against all the educators

A senior United Nations Children's fund （UNICEF） official on May 29 praised China for its remarkable achievements in children's welfare（福利）.

A.H.M. Farook, UNICEF's operations area officer for China and Mongolia said, “China can be very satisfied to tell the whole world what can be done with limited resources to help its children to grow healthily and happily.”

China's child population makes up one fifth of the world's total.

“The reason behind the remarkable achievement is China's long tradition of caring for children both at home and in society," he said.

“What's more is that Chinese people have always given special attention to children who are in special need."

The UN official made the remarks when addressing a group of 50 children and staff from the Beijing Children's Welfare Home at the Shangri la Hotel, Beijing.

The hotel invited the orphans to share snacks（小吃）, sing, dance and play games at a park inside the hotel for a “Share the Sunshine" party, as a prelude（前奏） to celebrations to mark the Children’s Day.

The Beijing children's Welfare Home, set up soon after New China was founded in 1949, has at present more than 400 children.

A leading official of the welfare institution said that the children live a happy life and that the agency spends 400－500 yuan a month for an average orphan. An average Chinese worker earned 440 yuan a month during the first quarter this year. k+s-5#u 

Gu Xiaojin, deputy secretary general of the China Youth Development Foundation （CYDF）, said people from all walks of like have contributed to the welfare of the Chinese children.

She said that CYDF set up the Project Hope in 1989, which walls on people across the country to donate money to help poor children to continue their schooling.

By the end of last year, she said, CYDF had collected nearly 700 million yuan in donations, which has helped the establishment（建立） of 2,074 Hope primary schools and enabled more than 1.25 million dropouts to return to school classrooms.

According to the passage, how can children grow healthily and happily?

       A．They are offered best education and satisfying life.

       B．They must have their own parents who are rich.

       C．Both the society and their parents care for them.

       D．They are allowed to take part in many activities like computer games as often as possible.

From the passage, we know the Beijing Children's Welfare Home spends at least _____ yuan on the orphans every year.

       A．1,920,000 B．700,000    C．874,000    D．900,000

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

       A．China's population makes up one fifth of the world's total.

       B．The CYDE has used the money to help reduce dropouts.

       C．The Beijing children's Welfare Home was founded in 1989.

       D．An average Chinese worker earned 440 yuan during the first quarter this year.

China can get the remarkable achievements in children’s welfare because _______.

       A．There are many children’s welfare homes. k+s-5#u 

       B．The Hope Project has been very successful.

       C．The Chinese governments have been working harder than before.

       D．China has a long tradition of caring for children both at home and in society.

E

There is a debate going on in America public schools over the best way to teach English to foreign students. Many schools use bilingual education. This means that students study their core subjects such as science, mathematics and social studies in their native tongues. They also take a few h ours of English.

Recently, many educators have begun to criticize bilingual education. Opponents claim that bilingual education slows not only students’ development of language skills but also their adjustment to American life. They often remain separated from the mainstream student body.

These critics have proposed the immersion method (沉浸式语言教学法). This means that students take only English classes until they can function effectively in regular subject classes. Proponents of the immersion theory argue that in order to prepare these foreign students for college or the job market, they must be able to communicate in English.

Despite this disagreement, nearly all educators agree that English is a necessary tool for improving the quality of one’s life in America.

72. In bilingual education programs, students ______.

A. study in their native countries

B. study their core subjects in their native languages

C. study only English until they can function effectively in regular subject classes

D. mainly work on adjustment to American life

73. A proponent is someone who ______.

A. supports a certain idea or policy      B. is against a certain idea or policy

C. uses the immersion method of teaching English   D. is a school administer

74. According to the article, which of the following is NOT true?

A. Nearly all educators agree that English is important for foreign students.

B. Students in bilingual education programs are often separated from American students

C. Nearly all educators agree that bilingual education is best for teaching English to foreign students.

D. Students with good English language skills have better chances for college or the job market.

75. What is the author’s opinion about the bilingual education in America?

A. He is for it strongly             B. He is against it strongly

C. He doesn’t show his own opinion  D. He is against all the educators